Quote:
Originally Posted by DiapDealer
I agree that many people's definitions of "stealing" are too narrow. Nobody bats an eye at stealing time, or stealing a kiss, or stealing away, or stolen moments, or stealing ideas, or stealing hearts, or any other esoteric use of the word. But as soon as someone mentions stealing ebooks/IP, people want to get all stuffy and rigid with their definitions. It's quite tiresome, actually. People consuming something they're not entitled to consume without paying the person who is entitled to be paid for said consumption is theft by any reasonable societal standard. They may never be legally convicted of theft, but they have stolen something just the same.
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I think that if you want to call a pirate a thief you're certainly entitled to, just as you're entitled to call an apple an orange. But in a serious discussion among literate people where words are taken seriously it seems kind of out of place.
I also feel that I'm as entitled to be stuffy and rigid and tiresome as you are to use words incorrectly.
I do like your mention of stolen hearts, etc. That was clever.
Barry